SPARTANS LOOK TO CLAIM FIRST CW LEAGUE TITLE AGAINST NO. 6 THUNDERBIRDS

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL (CANADA WEST)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012
TRINITY WESTERN VS BRITISH COLUMBIA
PREVIEW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS LOOK TO CLAIM FIRST CW LEAGUE TITLE AGAINST NO. 6 THUNDERBIRDS

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No.1 Trinity Western men’s volleyball team will host the No. 6 University of British Columbia this weekend with hopes of securing top spot in the Canada West conference. Two wins by the Spartans will give TWU the host spot for the CW final four and an automatic berth at this year’s CIS championship at Queen’s University. But it will not be an easy two games for the Spartans as they host the Thunderbirds Friday and Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. Follow the game live with live stats on Canadawest.TV. You can also follow the Spartans on Twitter @TWUSpartans or on YouTube Spartans-SID.

Trinity Western Spartans (17-1)
Last Weekend: Calgary 3-0 W, 3-1 W
2012 CIS Rank: No. 1
2010-2011 CW Record: 13-5
2010-2011 CW Tournament: 3-1, 3rd
2010-2011 CIS Tournament: 3-0, 1st

The Spartans remain at the top of the CIS and Canada West standings as they play their last two regular season games. The Spartans have already clinched their playoff position, bringing them closer to defending their CIS Championship title.

Last weekend the Spartans played the No. 7 Calgary Dinos in two games on the Dinos’ home court. Despite home court advantage, the Dinos never had a chance to get by the powerhouse Spartans. In the first set, Trinity Western quickly took a lead that they would keep until the end of the set. By the time that the Spartans ended the set, the score was 25-18 in favour of the visiting team.

Set two was more of the same, as the Spartans took control of the game from the beginning and cruised to another uncontested 25-18 set win. By the third set the Dinos showed signs of life, but it was a case of too little, too late. Calgary led early in the set, but the Spartans were able to take the lead in the middle of the set and earned the 25-23 win.

The Dinos came out with a little more fire on the next night, as they tried to stop the defending Champions. The Spartans took the first set 25-22, before being bested by the Dinos in a 25-20 second set. But Trinity Western shut down the Dinos with third and fourth set wins with scores of 25-23 and 25-18 to take the match 3-1.

Rudy Verhoeff took the lead for kills in the match, who added 20 kills to his total in the winning effort, while Dan Jansen Van Doorn recorded nine blocks. Also excelling defensively was Jarrod Offreins, who made 10 digs to further the team effort.

This brings the Spartan record to 17-1 as they finish their season against the UBC Thunderbirds.

British Columbia Thunderbirds (10-8)
Last Weekend: Brandon 3-1 W, 3-0 L
2012 CIS Rank: No. 6
2010-2011 CW Record: 7-11    
2010-2011 CW Tournament: 0-2
2010-2011 CIS Tournament: N/A

Last season the Thunderbirds were unceremoniously beaten in the first round of the playoffs, but this year’s team looks ready to compete in the post season. The Thunderbirds have already qualified for the post season and are playing for position.

In their last series, the Thunderbirds hosted the No. 8 Brandon Bobcats in two games at the UBC court. In the first of two games, UBC managed to earn the win despite a serious stumble in the second set. In set number one the Thunderbirds poured it on in the latter half of the set to earn a 25-22 set win.

But this was followed by a disheartening second set that saw the Thunderbirds fall in an embarrassing 25-13 fashion to their visitors. Going into the next set, UBC proved their grit by coming on strong in their third and fourth sets, earning two set wins of 25-22 to secure the win.

The two teams met in a rematch the following evening that proved to be a disappointment for the Thunderbirds.  UBC was not able to capitalize in the first set, and ended up falling to their opponents 25-19. The second set was a long one, as neither team was willing to concede the victory. It took a 32-30 score to finish the set, this one again in favour of Brandon.

At this point, down two sets to none, it only took a 25-23 set to finish off the Thunderbirds and send them back to their dressing rooms with a 3-0 loss.

UBC’s Robert Bennett tied for the game high of 16 kills, while their libero Ian Perry chalked up 11 digs.

-TW-